Innocent Lovers
by House of Spades
Summary: The future is distant, but all that matters is where they are now, and the purity of their honest love. Based off the poem "She walks in Beauty" by Lord Byron. Explanation to this madness inside. K for COUSIN LOVIN! Sorry, couldn't resist…


AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey there avid readers! It's me, House of Spades, back again for my third Ben 10 ONESHOT! The other day, while doing a project in English, I came across a poem written by Lord Byron called _She Walks in Beauty_. After a smidge of research, I found out that the poem was written towards the _cousin_ of Lord Byron… I honestly couldn't pass off an opportunity as big as this! Before continuing, please notice that I am not a Bwen fan: Before I took the time to write this short story, I actually found it a bit… unsanitary? But after doing research about the poem's _true_ meaning, I've found that I can bear with the pairing after all. Please realize that I much prefer Gwevin. As I see it, however, the poem fits perfectly with the ideal Bwen relationship, according to _moi_. I hope that you find that this ONESHOT bridges the gap between the cumbersome relationship of these two cousins. Enjoy!

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_She walks in Beauty, like the night, Of cloudless climes and starry skies;  
And all that's best of dark and bright, Meet in her aspect and her eyes:  
Thus mellowed to that tender light, Which Heaven to gaudy day denies._

"Ben?" Gwen says to her cousin.

Ben jumps as her voice pulls him out of his distant thoughts. He collects himself as he checks his surroundings, disappointed to find that he's still sitting in his simple garage. He sighs, dismayed that the rare colors of his thoughts had vanished so effortlessly into the monotone shades he stood in now. All abstract had left, except for the uniqueness of the girl standing over his shoulder.

Ben waits for a moment until he looks up at his cousin. Gwen. Just thinking of her name makes his heart race faster than it normally should. It was true that for the past few years, he's admired her more than a person should love their own cousin, something regular society seemed to hate… And nowadays, he honestly doesn't care about what others think, because he only sees their love as innocent. He pays no attention to what others had to say about their close relationship, nor does he worry about how it might affect his morals. Besides, it wasn't like regular society had any say over his life: He lives very differently from most _normal_ people as it is.

What he _is_ worried about is Gwen's reaction to a situation this extreme. He might think of his cousin as his own innocent lover, but he honestly has no idea what her reaction to the subject would be. She's strange only in this way; everything she does is only what she believes to be just and moral. Always.

Even including her flaws, she's perfect.

Ben stops himself from blushing too deeply and smiles back up at his cousin, who's still looming over his shoulder.

She giggles and shocks her cousin with a dazzling smile. "I didn't know you liked poetry, Ben," she says, and Ben's heart pulse faster.

Ben grins back sheepishly. "I don't really," he explains. "I found this poet… While I was supposed to be researching for my history project."

Gwen's laughter only increases after his explanation. It's just like her cousin to let his mind wander off. If she weren't there, he'd be helpless… Which is truthfully one of many reasons that she enjoys being with her cousin. She smiles as she thinks about how grand of a couple they could be… It's become an obsession of hers, really: She's even compared the both of them to a pair of innocent lovers, and found no _severe_ difference.

"What's the poem called?" Gwen asks him after a few moments of silence.

"_She walks in beauty_, by Lord Byron," Ben responds.

"I know him!" Gwen exclaims. "Wasn't that the poet who fell in love with his cousin?" She blushes after saying that… She'd actually come across the poem a while ago and fell in love with his writing style. Later on, she found out that the poem was actually written for Lord Byron's cousin after being smitten by her. She loves this poem to the day, more so than any other she's ever read… For obvious reasons. Little did Gwen know that her cousin liked the poem for the exact same reason Gwen does now. He smiled, thinking of how wonderful it would be if he could say these simple lines to her without a care.

"No, actually," Ben says. "Lord Byron wrote it for his cousin… Only because he thought she was beautiful. I'm sure he _loved_ her, but not to the point of saying that he wanted to _marry_ her or something…"

Gwen blushes madly at these words. She finds that the similarity between her thoughts and her cousin's words are uncanny. Could it be, he felt the same way about her as the ancient poet felt about his own cousin? "Read some more of it," Gwen demands. Ben smiles again and looks back at his paper, continuing out loud:

_"One shade the more, one ray the less, Had half impaired the nameless grace;  
Which waves in every raven tress, Or softly lightens o'er her face;  
Where thoughts serenely sweet express, How pure, how dear their dwelling-place."_

He looks up at Gwen, who smiles back at him. He crumples up the paper, tosses it backwards, hoping to recite it from memory. It was nice that he had read the poem at least a thousand times that afternoon… He moves closer to her ever so slowly, and is both surprised and satisfied to find that she shows no signs of wanting to back away. He begins…

_"And on that cheek, and o'er that brow, So soft, so calm, yet eloquent."_

Ben softly reaches for his cousin's hand. He clamps his fingers around her gently. He smiles as his cold hands touch her warm fingers, and somehow, he feels so much brighter. The butterflies in his stomach flutter harder, but he ignores them and continues. Gwen blushes harder as Ben continues reciting the poem.

_"The smiles that win, the tints that glow, But tell of days in goodness spent."_

Gwen's heart races at the same pace as Ben's. Gwen was scared that her cousin, being one that enforced the law, would follow the law that even nature seems to enforce. Before now, she loved her cousin more that what was considered sane, but was afraid her dreams of love would never come true. She tightenes her fingers around Ben's hand and looks into his eyes, hoping to do everything possible to make this moment last.

Ben moves closer to Gwen's face steadily. In response, she leans in towards her own cousin… And to either child, everything seems to be flawless. They remain innocent lovers, and nothing more. Ben loves her because she is always beautiful, and she loves him because he was her world. The future is distant, but all that matters is where they are now, and the purity of their honest love.

Both stand inches away at that moment, anticipating the next movement…

_"A mind at peace with all below…"_

And they both kiss ever so softly. A kiss calm and caring, just like the love they will share for the rest of their lives. Both think to themselves about how right the moment feels, and how wrong society is for trying to bring them down.

They break apart after an eterninty, and Ben whispered into her ear the final line of the poem…

_"…A heart… Whose love is innocent!"_

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Thank you everyone for reading! I hope you've been enlightened by the true spirit of BWEN! C:


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